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THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER

MARCH, 1971

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By KENNETH C. RATHBONE

War between Britain’s Conservative Government and the trade union movement has now broken out on two fronts — wages and the Industrial Relations Bill, which will impose a number of re- strictions on unions as well as wildcatters.

First victory of the war has undoubtedly gone to the Government, who have routed 200,000 Post Office workers, after a 47-day struggle.

The Union of Post Office Workers — postmen, counter clerks and telephone operators (Britain’s telephone service is run by the Post Office) — came out on strike for a 15 per cent pay increase in face of a Post Office offer of 8 per cent. Now the Post Office Workers are back at work again on the same pay as before the strike.

Court of Inquiry

A court of inquiry whose decisions are to be regarded as binding by both sides, is examining the financial situation of the Post Office, the utilization. of manpower, and the relationship between the Post Office and the UPW. The Post Office is to discuss pay rates within the Post Office.

Like the Charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimean War it may have been gallant and glorious but it seems to have been a useless sacrifice. The UPW, although it has 200,000 members, is not one of Britain’s strong unions. It entered the strike with in- sufficient funds to pay strike pay to its members, more than half of its telephonist members

(mostly women) refused to:

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come out on strike, and the Post Office Engineering Union and others were not involved.

Hardship Money

Hardship money was paid to about 20,000 or 30,000 hard- pressed members, which exhausted the union’s funds and has run up a debt of about $675,000 in interest free loans from other unions. All told the strike has cost the UPW about $2,000,000 and is likely to cripple it for some time. An immediate increase in dues is expected and the union’s education scheme, etc., will probably have to be scrapped.

The remarkable thing is that the strike lasted as long as it did. There were three con- tributory factors to this: state social security paid out more than $5 million to dependents of strikers (not to strikers); some strikers in big cities were able to get other.jobs; and many had wives working. The

Government is now likely to -

take a look at the regulations allowing payment of social

security. benefits to families of Engineering Workers about

strikers.

Work-to-Rule

It would appear to have been better tactics for the union to fight by means of a work-to- rule, go-slow, or temporary stoppages by different sec- tions, which would have disrupted the Post Office without taking everyone off the payroll. But the majority of the committee apparently decided otherwise.

There has been criticism of the fact that the trade union movement with assets ap- proaching $500 million gave comparatively little support, but many other unions are facing, or may soon be facing, battles of their own. Big strikes can be costly. The Transport and General Workers’ Union, Britain’s largest, has assets of more than $50 million, but the strike at Ford’s, involving only a comparatively small per- centage of its members, has already cost $1,500,000. The same strike has cost the Amalgamated Union of

stretches management’s re- sponsibilities to workers on sick leave.

Canteen of Canada Ltd. ar- gued that a worker on sick leave without pay was not en- titled to any form of payment in wages or fringe benefits. The company cancelled a $7,- 500 life insurance policy on Margaret Reid, who was on sick leave when she died in April, 1970.

The issue was whether the company was obligated under its contract with the union to

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fits during a leave of absence.

Arbitrators traditionally have held that “without pay” means without wages. Bene- fits, ruled arbitrator Howard Brown, flow from the employ- ment relationship and not merely from the entitlement to pay.

Canteen violated its agree- ment with the Retail, Whole- sale and Department Store Union, Mr. Brown decided, by terminating Mrs. Reid’s pol- icy. She was not informed of the cancellation.

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$500,000. And no end is in sight.

Railway Unions

Now the railway unions are lining up for battle. The National Union of Railwaymen wants a 25 per cent increase, and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen and the Transport Salaried Staffs Association want ‘‘substantial’’ increases. The nationalized British Railways have offered 8 per cent. The Government’s anti- inflation policy aims at restricting all wage increases to 10 per cent.

Militants on the railways are already calling for strikes, while others favour work-to- rule or go-slow, but union leaders are trying to play it cool and cautious at present. The postal strike has shown that Britain could get along without postal services; there is always the danger that the public might manage without the railways for quite a long time, too. Strike pay would probably exhaust NUR funds in two or three weeks.

Shocking Increases

British Railways are operating at a loss and any increase above 8 per cent would mean more shocking increases in railway fares, which would be extremely unpopular with the public. The Government would use this weapon indiscriminately.

On the Industrial Relations Bill front the trade union movement is facing the greatest threat to its existence since before the Trade

Disputes Act of 1906.

More than 125,000 trade unionists took part in a protest demonstration organized in London by the TUC — the

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largest trade union demon- stration since the 1930s.

But there is division of opinion on the strategy of the fight. The Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers and others are carrying out a series of one-day strikes against the Bill, but the majority at present seems to be against this. Militants are.calling for general strikes and TUC General Secretary Vic Feather has been forced to cut short his speech at two noisy meetings.

CANNERY RUN BY GOVERNMENT

A cannery which was closed a year ago in Manitoba is to be re-opened under public owner- ship and is expected to gener- ate about $400,000 per year for

the local economy in the form.

of wages and crop payments.

The Manitoba Development Corporation has announced that it has purchased the assets of the former Canadian Can- ners Ltd. vegetable cannery in Morden. The former owners closed the plant prior to its 1970 operating season.

The operation is expected to employ some 20 permanent and about 120 seasonal workers during the summer months. In addition, about 75 farmers will be involved in producing vegetables from 2,000 acres in the Morden-Winkler area. The major crops will be peas, wax beans, green beans and corn.

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